Nothing
by IvyClare2020
Summary: He'd left her. He'd vanished, and she waited. Waited and feared, while trying to love her daughter enough for the both of them. She supposed, however, that schoolgirl crushes didn't constitute marriage. That's what scared her. One-sided NaruSaku and SasuSaku. One-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! So, this was just a random little one-shot that popped into my head. I was thinking about the ending of Naruto and how it's kind of wrapped up in a little bow. Everyone gets married, has kids, and gets their happily ever after. This is just my version of what might have happened after Sasuke left Sakura and Sarada. Please, no flames, although I'm always up for constructive criticism.**

 **Also, please be aware that I do not dislike SasuSaku by any means. In fact, I'll probably do a SasuSaku fanfic in the future. NaruSaku is just my preferred ship at the moment.**

 **I do not own Naruto.**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

It was quiet. Until the baby woke up.

Sakura groaned as the wailing reached her ears. She turned on her side to find the bed empty. She shivered. The bed was cold. It was always cold.

It was cold because it lacked the second body that was supposed to be lying there. The man who belonged there was gone, on some mission. He said he would come back. She wanted to believe him, yet there was always that fear that gnawed on her. The fear that he'd deserted her. Again.

She peeled herself away from the bed and stumbled through the darkness into the hall. Shadows flickered up and down the walls as she neared the nursery. The sound of crying got louder and louder, adding to the pounding in her skull.

She reached the crib, and the moon poured light onto a tiny figure that was sprawled out on the blankets.

"Hey, Sarada. It's okay. Mama's here," she murmured. She lifted the baby into her arms and cradled her. The baby continued to screech, louder. Sakura cringed while resisting the urge to curse.

She sighed and fell back into the rocking chair beside the window. She rocked back and forth, and back and forth.

She looked at her child. His child. _Their child._

In all honesty, her daughter was more Sasuke's child than her's. She had Sasuke's jet black hair, his dark, deep eyes. She rarely smiled, if ever. In more ways than one, Sarada was a full-fledged Uchiha.

Sometimes, Sakura would look at her child and wish she saw a hint of herself. A fleck of green in her eyes, a streak of soft pink hair. Other times, the baby in her arms had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The baby in her arms would smile, and she'd smile back. There would be a warm hand on her shoulder, and the man beside her would look up at her with deep, warm blue orbs…

It was times like those that she shook herself. She was married, and not to the man in those daydreams. Times like those, she was especially cold and especially lonely. On those particularly troubling days, she'd have to remind herself that she was Sakura Uchiha, not Hinata Uzumaki.

She squeezed her eyes shut. She shouldn't be thinking like this. No, she was Sasuke's wife. She'd won the man of her dreams, her childhood crush. She had a beautiful daughter that she wouldn't trade for anything. She had the life she always wanted. And yet, she waited. She waited for him until she wasn't quite sure what she was waiting for, she just knew something was missing, something was out of place. She'd find herself glancing at the door, waiting for someone to open it. She'd imagined it so many times, him opening the door, her running to him and being swept in his arms. But that was a dream, and at this stage in life, she wasn't naïve enough to believe that such things existed. Things like betrayal and loneliness existed, but happily-ever-afters? No.

She bit her bottom lip as she played the moment over again. She could still remember every detail. _She was falling. Fast. She wanted to scream, but she was being strangled. A giant fist was closing in on her, waiting for the life to slip from her. She could feel the wind in her hair, ready to take her away. She closed her eyes, waiting for the ground._

 _She never hit it. She hovered above it, waiting for the final blow._

 _She simply stood, watching his shadow disappear. She refused to cry. She couldn't cry. Her muscles were wound tight, her fists clenched and white. She pressed the bundle in her arms against her breast. It began to wail softly, as if it knew what was happening. Her newly acquired intuition kicked in, and her knees began to bounce as she whispered into the child's ear._

 _"He'll be back, Sarada."_

Her daughter continued to wail, just as she was now.

She remembered Naruto, whispering in her ear. "He'll come back. He always does."

* * *

He missed Sarada's first birthday. And her second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. He wasn't there to see her take her first steps. He wasn't there when she lost her first tooth. He wasn't present on her first day at the Academy. Naruto was, with Hinata. They stood off to the side, beside Sakura. After the ceremony, Naruto decided that they should spend some "quality time" together. That could be translated to Sakura eating her lunch quietly while Naruto, in his typical exuberant fashion, went on about Hinata's pregnancy. Hinata, in turn, had blushed and giggled. They'd seemed too caught up in the prospect of another child that they didn't notice when Sakura left.

She watched her daughter look and stare at the families in the street. The families consisting of a smiling mother, laughing brother, giggling sister and proud father. Somehow, while watching them, their family felt incomplete. Unstable.

He wasn't there when Sarada had asked if Sasuke wore glasses. It would seem like a simple enough question to anybody else. But it meant more to both Sarada and Sakura than the words implied. He wasn't there when his daughter had questioned his marriage with Sakura. He wasn't there when the rage took hold of her and her fist smashed into the ground. He didn't see the house blow apart, shake and collapse on its foundation. He wasn't there during the aftermath, when the dizziness took over and the world spun and suddenly, she was falling. He wasn't there to catch her before she hit the ground.

He wasn't there when the picture Sakura had constructed that held a photo of the three of them broke. The frame was smashed, shattered.

When he did come back, she opened the door for him. She waited for that giddiness that she used to get, the kind from when she was a little girl. She searched him, desperately, because she wanted to feel something. So very badly it was like a knife through her ribs.

She opened the door and looked into his dark eyes. The orbs she used to melt into. Instead, it felt like someone was carving out her chest, hollowing her inside.

She looked into his eyes and felt nothing.

* * *

 **So, yeah. Not my best story, but I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for reading! Also, if any of you are interested, I may continue this story. We shall see.**

 **Please review!**

 **Best Regards,**

 **Ivy**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! I was honestly very suprised by the response I got! Thank you to all those who've followed, reviewed or favorited. I was motivated to write a second chapter to wrap up the story. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **So, this turned out to be more of a SasuSaku story. I didn't want this story to go down the affair drama road, so here's what I came up with. Also, I'm not following the plot of Gaiden, which is why Sakura isn't kidnapped or anything like that.**

 **I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

"Sakura."

His voice was unfamiliar, distant. Monotone. She shouldn't have expected anything else from Sasuke, but the weight on her shoulders grew heavier when she heard his blunt indifference. She swallowed.

"Sauske."

She breathed his name. It tumbled from her lips, leaving her stripped clean and vulnerable. The walls caved in and her bones splintered. Her blood froze and her skin turned to ash and slipped to the ground. He was here. In front of her. Close enough to touch, to hold. Palpable. She wanted to fall into him, feel him to assure herself he was real. Then, she remembered the cold bed, the nights alone. She inhaled sharply.

"I met Sarada on my way here," he said. He moved past Sakura and into the house. She pushed the door shut and leaned against it. He continued to move away from her, his head turning as he observed the house as if he'd never stepped foot in it. Her body began moving on its own accord, carrying her heavy legs down the hall. He stopped abruptly and turned to face her. His eyes met her's and her breath caught in her throat.

"She pestered me for answers about my absences. Have you not explained to her why I've been gone?" he questioned.

Sakura's blood began to boil and heat rushed to her face. _She_ needed to explain things? Her eyes flashed, and she breathed fire. She clenched her fists.

"Where is she?" she asked, gritting her teeth. Sasuke looked away, but remained stoic.

"She ran off after I explained that my whereabouts were none of her concern. Naruto went after her."

The fire built up in her chest like an explosive, ready to blow at any moment. It burned and bubbled in her throat. She turned away from him and stocked towards the door. It slammed behind her.

* * *

She shook as she collapsed onto the stone cold bench. She stared at her trembling fingers and tried to still them, but she was still seething. She wanted to lash out at him, so very badly. But something was holding her back; this giddy voice in the back of her head that insisted on the fact that he was home, and that was what mattered. She could have the family she always wanted.

She scorned at the thought. Happily ever after, as if. Her family was too broken. Much too broken. She felt the fire start to melt away as the storm came in, with its thunder and lightning and pouring rain. Her hand brushed the smooth stone, and she choked on an abrupt sob.

He had asked her to marry him on this bench. He'd been home for nearly a year when it happened. He'd guided her to the bench, the bench where he'd left her all those years ago. He'd insisted that she close her eyes, and she complied, feeling more giddy with every step she took. He'd sat her down and offered her a cherry blossom.

" _Sakura Haruno, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"_

He'd smiled; a genuine smile. She'd sat there, bewildered by the words themselves. He'd pulled out a ring, a small, plain silver thing that Sakura still treasured to this day. She'd kissed him, and soon after they were married among the cherry blossom petals that fell upon the ground.

She twisted the ring on her finger and touched her cheek. She could still faintly feel the burn of her face that had appeared the night of the honeymoon. The night they had revealed themselves to each other in their full glory. She remembered the moon, how its shadows danced off the two of them, creating a blue canvas. How they laid together, fingers brushing each other's scars.

She touched her belly, remembering how Sasuke had pressed his lips against it when it swelled with child. How, when the moment came, he'd held her hand through it all. Endured her crushing strength and earsplitting screams. How he'd held their daughter, a look of pride in his eyes that Sakura had scarcely seen.

She blinked back tears, trying to hold in the moisture that was threatening to leak from her eyes.

Even after all that, he'd left her. The day after Sarada was born, he'd disappeared into the night, just like he had before. Was it her? Sarada had blamed her before for Sasuke's absence.

And Naruto.

He was her rock, her solid ground. He kept her steady, and he practically assumed the role of Sarada's father. He was Sakura's warmth. And he didn't belong to her.

She let out a strangled cry, and it echoed off the now black sky. She clenched her jaw, but stood. Her legs felt like water. Unstable, undependable. She trudged home.

When she reached their bed, Sasuke was already in it, fast asleep. She heard the muffled cries of her daughter in the next room, but when she opened the door, Sarada had sworn and screamed at her mother to leave her be.

She stood by Sarada's closed door and slid to the ground.

It was cold.

* * *

The next few weeks went by as if Sasuke had never returned. He left home early and came home late, seemingly to busy to interact with his family. Sakura dove headfirst into her work as a mother and nurse, trying to convince herself that it was better this way. She didn't have to face him. Didn't have to face those tender memories that ran throigh her head every minute if every day. Nothing had changed.

She found herself a frequent visitor of Ino's. She'd sit at the counter in the flower shop and stare at the bright flowers and bubbly costumers. On that particular day, however, Ino decided she'd had enough of Sakura's constant sulking. She grabbed Sakura by the wrist and dragged her into the backroom while still managing to throw her apron at Inojin and bark at him to watch the store.

"Sakura, listen to me. I know that you've been stressed ever since Sasuke came back, but you can't go around moping all the time," she hissed. Her hands were on her hips, her lips pressed into a line.

Sakura's eyes found the floor and stayed there. Ino sighed.

"Do you need to talk about it? I'm always here for you, " she murmured, her tone softer. Sakura felt tremors run up her spine as the weight on her shoulders pressed into her body.

Sakura's lips quivered. "I...Ino...he's never home. He doesn't speak to me or Sarada. It's as if we're nothing to him. And he feels so distant...I feel like I don't know him anymore."

Ino touched her arm. "Did you love him before?"

Sakura blinked moisture from her eyes. "Yes."

"Then you never stopped. Real love isn't something that just stops. A little part of you is always going to love that person no matter what they do. Remember when he left, way back then? You never gave up on him. You saw past his flaws and found the man he was inside. That was love. It's unconditional. It's a commitment, an action. It's trust. Not an infatuation. It's selfless, and it never stops."

Sakura's lips were glued shut, her tears spilling over. Ino gave her a small smile and left. She stood in the dark, her body shaking, breathing in the pollyn and tears.

* * *

She couldn't sleep that night. Ino's words pounded in her head, creating a wall between her and unconsciousness. She squeezed her eyes shut. She knew, deep down, that she loved Sasuke. She'd never stopped loving him. She'd just given up on her happily ever after. However, she also loved Naruto, and a little piece of her always would. Perhaps her infatuation with him was a result of being alone for so long; maybe she'd convinced herself that the most constant thing in her life was the one she loved, even more than Sasuke.

She saw light prance across the walls and her legs carried her downstairs. Sasuke was there, dark and tall. She motioned for him to sit on the couch, and he followed her, his hands clasped in his lap. Moonlight poured from the window onto them and created an array of shadows. He looked at her, and for a fraction of a second, Sakura saw a battle going on in his eyes as well. A flash of regret. She studied his mouth, the way it was bracketed by the fear that he would lose something.

"Hello," he whispered.

"Hello," she murmured back. She took his hand, breathed in, and suddenly, they were free.

* * *

 **So, that's it for this story. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story.** **Please review!**

 **Best Regards,**

 **Ivy**


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